A night off

First two nights on the new job down ... It went well, reallly. There weren't a lot of calls either night, and it didn't take me too long to get the hang of how to fill out the "paperwork" on the computer. Really the important thing is to get the request from the house supervisors or clients to the right people quickly, and that's easy enough. I got a lot of reading done actually, so I'm probably going to have to be making lots of trips to the library. No problem there, and maybe I won't have any overdue books as fast as I'll probalby be reading them!

I haven't been tired out from the extra hours, either. Fell asleep pretty quick and slept good each night. Tonight I even got some of the mowing done. Hopefully, there won't be too much more of that, as it has cooled off quite a bit this week.

It's not all great news, though. One of my support group members, who entered hospice care recently, went into the hospital this week. Only family is allowed to visit, and I understand they have her on a lot of pain meds. It probably won't be much longer. This one will be hard to take because we were diagnosed and joined the group around the same time. She's only a couple years older than me, too. And she was certainly a fighter. It just proved too much for her, though.

Last summer, she went to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for six weeks of treatment. She kept us updated with frequent e-mails that were full of hope and humor. In one of them she mentioned how at home, before she left, someone she knew commented that she was a "strong woman" facing what she was going through. But she preferred to be thought of as a woman of strength, as in this poem:

A strong woman works out everyday to keep her body in shape…
But a woman of strength builds relationships to keep her soul in shape

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything…
But a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the better of her…
But a woman of strength gives the best of herself to everyone.

A strong woman makes mistakes and avoids the same in the future…
A woman of strength realises life's mistakes can also be unexpected blessings, and capitalises on them

A strong woman wears a look of confidence on her face…
But a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey…
But a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

I think that says it all.